Thank you to everyone who took the time to join HomeAway in Las Vegas last month. RezFest 2013 went down in history as one of the largest vacation rental conferences on record. The nearly 900 registered attendees spent three days learning, networking and having fun together. The show was buzzing with energy, new ideas and product announcements poised to make professionally managed vacation rentals stronger than ever.

Across the keynotes, the software and listings lab, educational sessions, HomeAway lounge and countless one-on-one interactions over lunch, dinner, drinks, bowling and more – everyone learned from one another in a casual and professional environment. The active participation of each property manager in attendance helps drive continual growth and improvement in the vacation rental industry. View this quick video from property manager Roy Wiltshire who attended and greatly benefited from RezFest.

RezFest 2013 was another major step forward in demonstrating HomeAway’s commitment to helping vacation rental managers succeed. Time and again we heard from customers about how innovative and informative the breakout sessions were as well as the demos conducted by Tom Hale (HomeAway’s Chief Product Officer) and his product team. From showcasing our newest Lead Management module to our new Housekeeping and Maintenance Mobile App and our new Reservation Grid, the words ”operational efficiency” resonated throughout the event.

In addition to major software feature announcements, HomeAway CEO Brian Sharples unveiled two industry game changers:

HomeAway’s new pay-per-booking listing model which enables property managers to advertise all or most of their inventory on HomeAway.com with no upfront fees under a pure pay-for-performance model at a 10% commission.

The Professional Referral Network presents vacation home owners interested in listing on HomeAway.com with the option of enlisting the services of a vacation rental manager as an alternative to marketing and managing the home themselves. This major initiative gives vacation rental managers the ability to market their services to the millions of owners who visit HomeAway to list their properties.

Our sponsors provided enormous value to property managers by showcasing their products and services. Direct feedback from satisfied property managers who learned and signed up for a number of services from sponsors at the conference were rampant. And, several sponsors mentioned they sold more at RezFest in 48 hours than at all industry events combined! So, a big thanks to all sponsors for attending RezFest and delivering great value to property managers with a variety of new and innovative products and services.

Thanks again to everyone who made RezFest such a big success!

We are looking forward to an even bigger and better conference in 2014!

Thanks to every customer and partners who took time away from their busy schedules to join us in Las Vegas in September for three days of networking, fun and tons of learning. At its heart, RezFest is about educating our software customers on how to get the most out of their investment in our software products. We offered over 80 sessions on a wide range of topics. To our normal slate of stellar educational sessions we added advanced classes and a mobile app challenge to convey how important it is to develop products with input from our clients. As always, the interactive lab was an unparalleled opportunity for customers to get face-to-face training with our experts. Kudos to our unbelievableSupportteam for spending so much time preparing and presenting valuable information to our clients.

By measure of the 600+ attendees with whom we spoke at the event, combined with extremely positive post-event survey feedback, customers acknowledge RezFest as the premier technology conference in the vacation rental industry.

At RezFest last year we asked the industry to “judge us by what we do,” not by speculation. We told the industry we would develop a new tool to help them manage the explosion of leads from potential renters. And we said we would not only develop that tool but would use it to demonstrate that we can build solutions that work with multiple platforms in our six-system portfolio. With the demo of the lead management system (LMS), we did exactly that. We added what is likely the biggest addition to our existing software products in years; all while constructing a new way to build our products. Without question, the LMS was one of the hot topics of RezFest! Customers not only responded extremely well to what we demoed, but when asked what they want us to focus on going forward, the message from many of them was “do more of that.” In other words, property managers see LMS not just as a new feature that will soon be available to them but also as a launch pad for a lot of features that will help them build stronger businesses for years to come.Learn More about LMS here.

In the past nine months our product team has been hard at work making your software more effective and secure. With over 30 releases, 508 enhancements on six end systems and 1,000 defects resolved, we continue to make significant progress to deliver category-leading software to all clients. And, rest assured we have no plans to discontinue support on any of our legacy products.

We’ve also heard property managers ask for improved integration between HomeAway Software and 3rd party distribution. Now, all of our customers can distribute inventory via their software interface on VRBO.com as well as HomeAway.com and all of our customers including EscapiaNET can participate in pay-per-subscription programs that allow them to take advantage of tiered pricing to maximize their visibility and Brand Boost to highlight their brands on our sites.Learn more about distribution here.

Lastly, we received feedback from HomeAway PM clients requesting to receive discounts when using both our software and the HomeAway Network of sites. In addition to the new listing volume discounts, you can now “bundle” new listings with your annual software maintenance and support renewal and save on your annual fees. Your Relationship Manager will contact you about this opportunity prior to your annual maintenance and support renewal month.

Our goal for this year was to deliver on our promises to be “judged by what we do” and lay out our 2013 business strategy in order to heighten the level of trust and confidence PMs have in HomeAway’s people and vision. We wanted to leave the “elephant in the room” behind and establish a trusting relationship with property managers to help grow this industry together! Based on direct feedback from RezFest attendees (see testimonial videos here), the atmosphere was really positive with more and more customers appreciating that HomeAway truly is committed to helping property managers succeed in the world of online vacation rentals. We feel our clients left Las Vegas inspired, excited and confident in choosing HomeAway as their strategic business partner not because of what we are but because of what we do.

We are just weeks away from hosting RezFest 2012 on September 25-27 at the beautiful Red Rock Casino and Spa in Las Vegas! The excitement is building as we prepare for this incredible event where leading property managers gather to learn, network and have fun together for a couple of days. To make this event even more fun this year, we are launching a ”Mobile App Challenge,” which consists of gathering ideas from our clients through a 5 minute survey. Once at RezFest, you will have an opportunity to check out the best ideas from the survey, vote on them and work with our Product Managers and Software Designers to help them build a prototype, which will be presented to you during RezFest’s closing session. Whether you attend RezFest 2012 in person or not, you can contribute your ideas through this survey and automatically qualify for a chance to win some great prizes, such as an iPad, Bose Noise Reduction Headphones or a membership to the "Wine of the Month" club. Take our 5 minute survey before August 15th for your chance to win!

If there is one educational event you must attend this year, RezFest is it! At this exceptional event, you will hear from Tom Flick, whose keynote sessions have inspired companies like Ritz Carlton, Starbucks and Boeing. You can also expect HomeAway® executives to make some PM-centric announcements you want to miss! With almost 100 sessions and 9 concurrent tracks, RezFest is your once-a-year opportunity to sit down with your software trainers for free to see demos of our latest features. As always, you can count on our social events to have fun while learning and networking with other leading property managers. So, make sure you bring enough staff at all levels of your organization, because your biggest regret will be that you didn’t bring more employees with you to take advantage of all the learning opportunities!

Due to the overwhelming attendee feedback from last year’s RezFest®, HomeAway Software for Professionals™ is proud to announce a repeat of the most vibrant and comprehensive software user conference for property management companies of all sizes on September 25 - 27, 2012 at Red Rock Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Join us for an incredible 2-day event where you will learn firsthand about the latest industry trends, imminent technology changes and most importantly, tangible ways to take your vacation rental business to higher levels of efficiency than you’ve ever imagined. This year, we challenged ourselves to outperform last year’s success, which is not going to be easy after what we heard last year:

“RezFest 2011 was the best conference I have attended in 10 years,” said Doug Byron from RE/MAX Lake Travis & Co.

You won’t want to miss the most valuable industry event and miss an opportunity to spend 2 1/2 days learning and networking with the most innovative property managers in the industry while having fun at the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa with all of us. This venue offers exquisite hotel rooms and suites with an unmatched combination of comfort, extravagance and value. Guests at the Red Rock Casino, Resort and Spa are pampered with every comfort and convenience imaginable, from luxurious bed linens to iPod jack sound system in every room and in-room spa treatments by appointment.

“RezFest is not only a wonderful way to keep your finger on the pulse of the vacation rental industry, but also a terrific opportunity to network and interact with some of the most innovative minds in the field.” (Mark Carraway - Meyer Vacation Rentals)

In addition to over 80 educational sessions to choose from and evenings of fun-filled events, you will hear from two extraordinary keynote speakers. Brian Sharples (CEO of HomeAway, Inc), who has lead the biggest revolution in the travel industry in decades, and Tom Flick. Mr. Flick has provided guidance to world class companies, including Starbucks, Ritz-Carlton, Boeing, Marriott and dozens of others. His insights have inspired sales teams, executives and managers from some of the greatest companies in America—who have asked him to return year after year. HomeAway is excited to have Mr. Flick speak about teamwork, performance and growth to the greatest companies in the vacation rental industry. And as a hands-on owner and user of vacation rental properties, Mr. Flick is bound to surprise you with leadership ideas you can apply to your business immediately.

You can attend RezFest 2012 for less than $240 if you take advantage of our “early bird” pricing, a $260 saving over our rack-rate pricing! So Register Today and receive the best possible value of any industry conference!

When HomeAway Software for Professionals™ was born in late 2010, we decided to continue the Instant Software® tradition to hold RezFest® as the premier software user conference in the industry. In doing so, we had a simple goal in mind: to make RezFest 2011 bigger, better, more fun and more professional than ever! Thanks to all of you showed up in Vegas for RezFest 2011, we surpassed expectations on all fronts!

Now that we have rested for a couple of weeks, gathered our thoughts and received survey feedback, I can share why RezFest 2011 was so successful. On a year-on-year analysis, conference attendance increased by 60%, with 80% more individual companies and 78% more sponsors attending than last year - thank you! We also provided more networking opportunities. Check out some of the fun photos from the opening night reception featuring the Blues Brothers impersonators to hitting the lanes on bowling night. Was that fun or what? Many clients thought RezFest was the best industry event they have attended and several of them were hugging us by the end of the conference! Here are a couple quotes from actual attendees that capture the moment:

“This was our first time at RezFest and we are now making sure that event is in our budget from now on. Worth every penny spent.”

“If you only attend one convention next year, it should be RezFest. It is the premier event for the vacation rental manager. You will meet wonderful people and learn so much. At RezFest you work hard, and play just as hard. Don't miss it!”

With 76 track combinations, we tried to offer a diverse and interesting agenda. Presenters did an amazing job and your appreciation was reflected in your survey responses. The large computer lab manned by the customer support team was also a tremendous success, giving clients the opportunity to be trained and/or ask questions about your particular software. Again, based on your feedback, the software lab was regarded as a valuable addition because it provides staff members from all levels of your organization a chance to work hands on with our team of experts. The agenda was so packed with engaging material that some of you asked that we make the show a day longer next year! Wow, that is a first where attendees ask for more time at a trade event!

During HomeAway CEO, Brian Sharples’ keynote, he explained why HomeAway acquired Escapia® and Instant Software and addressed industry fears to demonstrate how committed HomeAway is to the PM segment. By the end of his presentation, everyone seemed to have understood HomeAway’s strategy and felt much more comfortable with Hideaway’s acquisitions from about a year ago. Throughout the show, clients were able to mingle and with HomeAway’s executive team. I think customers were surprised by how accessible and down-to-earth Brian Sharples, COO Brent Bellm and the other executives were in person.

Peter Greenberg, the other RezFest speaker, was an energetic and informative speaker as he emphasized that the “personal contact” property managers provide to their guests 24/7 is key. He also focused on “selling value to the right demographics,” particularly to Boomers. Greenberg’s bullish perspective on the travel industry in the coming years was encouraging and the 2011 performance of many PMs in the room this year prove that he may be on track with his predictions.

I hope HomeAway demonstrated our commitment to your success and have your interests at heart. We will continue to operate in a professional and straightforward manner, with the 120 employees in HomeAway Software for Professionals dedicated to building the best possible software solutions and keeping dialog going with you and the Support and Relationship Manager staff. To use a construction analogy, we feel 2011 has been focused on building the foundation of a great house of the future. Next year will be a year of INNOVATION that will add marble counter tops, state of the art light fixtures and simple details to save you time and money. Our goal is to take your software solution to extraordinary levels of efficiencies using a modular approach that builds on top of your existing platform. It is not an easy and it takes time but like we said in late 2010, “judge us by our actions.”

Thank you for attending RezFest! For those of you who could not attend this year, please join us next year. You will not regret it!